Construction
AIA Form Dispute Election Was Adequate Waiver of Jury Trial Right
March 16th, 2017
This should not come as a surprise to any experienced construction attorney, that a New Jersey appellate court has held the AIA form dispute election terms to represent a proper waiver of the right to a jury trial. The project was to build a new home…
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Pursuing a Lien? FOLLOW THE LIEN LAW!
March 9th, 2017
Mechanic’s liens are a creature of statute, and each state has its own law, with different deadlines, terms and forms. But there is one common element: if you don’t follow the procedure as spelled out in the law, your lien claim will fail. The la…
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Categories: Construction
Indemnity Obligation Can Arise Even Without Negligence
March 3rd, 2017
The scope of an express indemnity obligation comes from the indemnity clause. If the indemnity is for claims “arising out of or in connection with” the indemnitor’s work, there is no need to prove that the indemnitor was negligent. That is the…
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Possible Tracing of Public Funds Did Not Make Project Subject to Prevailing Wage Rates
February 25th, 2017
A construction project was undertaken by the New York Racing Authority (NYRA), a not-for-profit entity established in 2008. Near its inception, NYRA had received $5 million from its predecessor, without any designation or restriction on use of the fu…
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Equitable Subrogation Claim Limited by Outcome of Insured Party Lawsuit
February 22nd, 2017
A carrier pursuing a subrogation claim has no better rights than its insured. This may seem elementary and logical, but a New York court has had to remind one carrier of this standard. The abutter to a construction project made an insurance claim for…
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Damaged Tower Crane Was Not Covered by Builder’s Risk Policy
February 17th, 2017
Readers may recall photos of a dangling tower crane boom after Hurricane Sandy passed through New York City in October 2012. The New York Court of Appeal has just issued a decision, ruling that damage to the tower crane is barred by the “contractor…
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Optional Appellate Rules in Arbitration Are, Well, Optional
February 15th, 2017
The American Arbitration Association rules for arbitration include a section titled “Optional Appellate Rules.” One might think this obvious, but it took a Pennsylvania appellate court to point out to one party that, if the arbitration ag…
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ASTM Standards Incorporated into Law Are Still Protected by Copyright
February 9th, 2017
Considering the competing interests of access to laws and copyright protection, a federal court has come down, in this instance, in favor of copyright protection. Despite efforts of some organizations to simplify the issues in order to criticize the…
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Categories: Construction
Manifest Disregard of Contract Termination Clause: Arbitration Award Vacated
January 27th, 2017
Arbitration awards are difficult to overturn, but the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled, in a 3-2 split decision, that an arbitrator manifestly disregarded the parties’ contract in his decision, and has vacated that award. The underlying project…
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Specifications Trump Industry Practices
January 24th, 2017
When the specifications call for temporary structures to be paid in a certain manner, it does not matter what the industry practice may be. That is the lesson learned by a structural steel supplier on a large bridge project. During the run-up to bidd…
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About Stan Martin
Stan Martin holds a law degree and an undergraduate degree in architecture. He has been involved with the construction industry for more than 45 years, working in construction prior to law school and beginning his construction law practice. During his career, he has been actively involved with the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Architects, the American Arbitration Association, and the Massachusetts Building Congress.